Not Just a Game
by DarkHand27
Summary: Hikaru meets Vivian, a girl who has a serious problem, which has something to do with recently waking up a ghost that wants revenge on the game of go and therefore will do anything to harm any being that plays it. R & R! WayaVivian
1. Chapter 1

Not Just a Game

A/N: Another story! I hope this one is successful too. I don't know why, but it suddenly occurred to me that I wanted to write a Hikaru No Go fic. Here ya go! I hope you like it… although this chapter doesn't really have anything about any of the characters except for a really quick run in with Ogata. I'm basically introducing my original characters to you now.

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Thief 

_He was merciless. Every move, every stone he slammed gently onto the board. He was taking everything from me, invading my every weakness, luring me into a wild frenzy of defending what I had left. That day, I did what I shouldn't have—I panicked. Before, I was unbeatable. No man ever came near to beating me. But he took everything without hesitation, without effort, without even noticing what exactly he was taking. _

_He took my heart._

_I got up, turned, and bolted. The stones lay scattered upon the ground._

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A teenage girl with long black hair and dark brown eyes stared out of the window from her hotel bed as if there was nothing else going around her—a sign of sheer boredom. She yawned and stretched, her light flowing hair falling around her and wiped away the resulting wetness in her eyes. She was dressed in a striped green shirt and a forest green skirt that went up to her knees, and was eyeing her socks by the dresser in an extremely lazy manner.

"Vivian! Where are you?" Her father called. "We're about to leave! Hurry up!"

Vivian let out a deep sigh and got up from the bed. After murmuring back a, "Coming!" she put on her socks and a light brown coat and exited the room. Her dad was standing by the door impatiently.

"Are you ready now?" he asked. His hand was on the doorknob already.

Vivian ignored the question and asked, "Why would you ask where I was if there's only two rooms in this suite? And hold on, I need to get something."

"You won't need your Ipod, Vivi! Come on quickly!"

Vivi sighed and blew away her bangs in exasperation. She decided to leave the Ipod in case her dad spontaneously combusted while he waited. As they left the hotel, she asked him, "What's the hurry?"

"What's the hurry?" He nearly exploded at that one. "Vivi, we're in Japan. Our first and foremost task must be tooo (he knelt down in a dramatic pose) visit the splendid Go Institute right next door!"

Vivi sweatdropped and thought, I should have known. Her father was a complete Go freak. Back in China, he would play Go with his buddies every weekend and whenever he had time during the week. "Dad, you're the one who keeps remarking on the wonders of Chinese go players. How come the Japanese are so interesting now?"

"You speak the language, Vivi," he sputtered, "so they aren't bad at all. Besides, the institute's a place, not a person."

"Okay then," she answered, "But why are you so interested in this game anyways. You can't even win against me and you taught me how to play, AND I absolutely suck at the game anyways."

"It's not about skill," he insisted, "It's about spirit! Go is FUN! You have to enjoy it to play it! Oh, here we are. Quick, Vivi! Get the camera out and take a picture of me."

She obliged without any useless arguments. Immediately after the flash he bounded through he door in an ecstatic manner. Vivi tried as hard as she could to avoid being recognized as his daughter. Unfortunately for her, her dad had already started on his task of reciting the history of the institute to her and squealing madly at everything he saw at the same time. It was hard to avoid the curious and sometimes sympathetic glances from the various incomers without looking down in embarrassment. A brown-haired boy that looked a little younger than her started laughing so hard his friend had to drag him away because he was too weak to move.

"Erm… dad? Dad!" Vivi poked him to get his attention. "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Oh… just when I was about to get to the good part! Well meet me back here okay?"

Vivi nodded in agreement and left walking as fast as she could. She turned the corner and let out a deep breath of relief.

As she went along trying to find the bathrooms, she noticed that the Go Institute was very open to public. Although… there weren't a whole lot of people walking around either. Just as she thought this she caught a whiff of cigarette smoke. An orange-haired man in a white suit rounded the corner and as a result they ran straight into each other.

"Oh I'm sorry," she apologized both with surprise and embarrassment. He was probably a professional player, and a good one too because she actually remembered seeing his face somewhere before.

He brushed himself off and replied, "It's fine." Then he adjusted his glasses a little higher and turned to leave.

"Um…," she started. He gave her a questioning look. "Where are the restrooms?"

"Keep going and you'll see them," he answered as he left.

She found them, and then after all that she decided to explore on her own as an excuse for delaying return to her dad. The first room she tried was locked, so all she could do was peer through the glass on the door. She gasped in recognition. This was the room where the Japanese Title matches were held. Feeling a sense of accomplishment in recognizing the room, she continued in trying random doors and poking around.

Nothing else was of interest until she noticed an open door. It was a small room with stacks and stacks of papers and books. The light was on, but whoever had opened it wasn't there at the moment. She stepped in, and immediately became aware that this was the records room. She peeked at the small pile of books that were on the table and saw the name Hon'inbo Shuusaku. The books were extremely old. Vivi hoped her father wouldn't get the chance to see these. Just hearing Shuusaku's name usually made him go off the rocker.

She picked one up curiously and took a peek inside. To her dismay, a loose paper fluttered out from it. Her heart momentarily pounded faster as she tried to fit it back inside. It didn't work.

_Okay Vivi, calm down_, she thought, _Just match up the page numbers_. But when she tried to do this, it didn't work either. The loose page had its page number on the upper right-hand corner while the rest were on the lower right. Upon closer inspection she noticed that he colors of the pages were different. The loose one looked much older as a result. On it was just another kifu (record) of another game that was completely beyond her understanding. With nothing else to do, she sat down and tried to read it as best as she could. All she could make out was that white was loosing and that the game was unfinished. _Go players can actually understand this stuff_, she thought, _Amazing_.

The lights flickered a little as she turned the page over. It had originally been blank, but Vivian could make out some faded characters. It was completely illegible now, but judging from the layout it was a letter for somebody.

That was a problem. It was completely illegible, and yet she knew she could read it.

Vivi looked up when she thought she had heard a noise. A faint, irregular buzzing came from the lamp. The light dimmed and then suddenly flashed just as she heard a loud electrical zap. She shielded her eyes from it because it was so bright.

All of a sudden, she heard a loud pop and the lamp went out. She was about to take her hands away from her eyes when she noticed that the room was actually getting brighter and brighter. She squinted and saw that the faded letters on the paper were glowing a blinding red. The whole room was white, and there was hardly any shadow, so that it felt like the walls and the ceiling and the floor was disappearing…

_Where am I? What happened?_

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A/N: I lied. You met three characters. That boy who started cracking up was Waya and the friend was Isumi. There, you happy now? Well, the next chapter won't have so much to do with Vivi so it won't seem like she's the center of attention, okay?

Vivi: What do you mean? I AM the center of attention.

Me: Of course you are. You're wanted by the FBI. Now go away.


	2. Chapter 2

Not Just a Game

A/N: Aw… no reviews yet. But that's okay, here's the second chapter. Since I have nothing to do and it is summer vacation, I'll probably update at least once a week. Yes, I know, you think that's impossible but I'm in a writing phase now. I don't know when I'll be out of it but you'll know when I suddenly start getting very lazy. Let's hope that doesn't happen too soon.

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Strength 

I was always more resolute, more independent, more stubborn and less picky, less obedient, and less gentle than my three sisters. For some reason, I saw that as strength. An unconquerable, wild strength. I thought I was free from all the fluttering, worthless lovebirds that flocked to my sisters.

_It was far from it. Day and night, love letters stormed into my wastebasket. Random princes from faraway lands wrote poems with sweet and sickening verses that tried to defeat me. Of course, I refused every single one of them, hoping that their hopes would be crushed and that they would never return._

_I didn't want to marry a filthy, egotistical noble. My refusals made them furious, and me more infamous. My parents were delighted that they received so much attention. Finally, I made a decision: Only somebody with enough intelligence and wit to defeat my hand at Go would be even considered as a husband._

_Go. That was real strength. I was unbeatable._

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Hikaru walked into the Go Institute with his confidence shooting up at an irregular high. Sai trailed behind him, listening as Hikaru boasted his new goal: to get at elast 16th place in the first class of Inseis and to compete in the annual Wakajishen, where higher-ranking Insei got the chance to enter into a tournament with newer pros.

"Touya'd better be there," Hikaru said with a wide grin on his face. His eye glinted evily.

"Hikaru," Sai reminded him, "you're still in second class and—"

"And?" grunted Hikaru. Sai eyed him nervously.

"Well, you are, um…, you're still, I MEAN you're doing great but…"

"Yes?" Hikaru's voice rose dangerously.

"Eh… you're still in the, um…, lower half of the second class."

Hikaru drooped and sweatdropped. "I know… BUT."

"Yes?" Sai said quickly, surprised.

"I _WILL_ MAKE IT TO THE WAKAJISHEN! A FEW IDIOTS FROM SECOND CLASS WON'T STOP ME!"

"Right!" Sai said, adopting Hikaru's confident tone. "It doesn't matter if you're still the worse Insei at the last place of the 2nd class! It'll be a piece of cake with me as your teacher!"

Hikaru sweatdropped and sighed. "I still have a long way to—"

He stopped mid-sentence as he saw Ogata round the corner. Quickly, he bowed down and greet politely, "Good morning Mr. Ogata."

Ogata acknowledged him with a smile slightly on the sinister side and muttered to himself, "Shindou…" (A/N: He ALWAYS does that.)

Hikaru just blinked in a very confused manner, shrugged, and moved on. He went before he could see a very hyperactive father point a finger excitedly at Ogata, scream something undecipherable in recognization, and attack him. (Mwahahahaha…)

As he walked through the hallway he stopped at an empty space in the wall. He stood there puzzled.

"Hey Sai… wasn't there a door here before?"

Sai thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes, I'm almost certain of it. It was a small room with lots of books."

"Whatever." Hikaru shrugged and continued walking. "I don't want to be late."

Sai floated there and didn't move. He eyed the wall curiously, and tried to stick his head through it. He was met with nothingness. It gave him a strange empty feeling. There wasn't anything on the other side. He pulled away from it before the feeling consumed him.

"Sai!" Hikaru called his name impatiently and motioned for him to hurry up. Sai gave the wall one more cautious look and went.

Hikaru greeted Waya and Isumi, who were eyeing each other competitively because they were against each other first thing in the morning. They didn't get a chance to say much because the matches were almost about to begin. Hikaru studied his next opponent, a boy 2 years younger than him with a nerdy-looking haircut. They both kneeled in front of the Go board and muttered, "Good luck," to each other.

Hikaru immediately focused his energy on the board. He stared hard at it, analyzing the opponents every move and reading further into the game. He sighed. This guy went by the book. Almost every move he made looked as if it had come from one. Just to see, he threw down a stone in the most random place he could find.

"Hikaru! What are you doing?" Sai screamed at the outrageous move. "That move has no reasoning behind it at all!"

"Sai! I told you to be quiet!" Hikaru snapped after flying three feet into the air at the sudden noise.

"B-but… that move…" whined Sai. "You'd better start getting more serious about the games you play."

"I AM," Hikaru huffed. Sai sighed and decided to leave it at that.

The opponent scratched his head and glared at the piece Hikaru just put down. He kept looking up at Hikaru and then down at the stone and then back up and down and up and down (accompanied by the occasional scratch of the head.) At this Hikaru decided just to smile back as innocently as he could.

"Um… Hikaru?" Sai said softly. He was looking up and gazing at the walls and the ceiling in a weird way.

"I _told_ you not to talk to…" Hikaru trailed off. "Sai?"

Sai was standing up now. "There's a presence…"

"Sai! What are you—"

"Hikaru!" Sai was officially worried. He kept glancing about as if expecting something. "Get away from here. It's not safe."

"What?"

"Something is about to—"

There was a loud explosion and part of the wall nearest to them collapsed. The clacking of stones onto the board immediately stopped. All the Inseis turned their attention to the wall.

Suddenly Go pieces on their side of the room that had been put down in a game flew, exploded, and cluttered. It was as if an invisible hand had struck them all away and scattered them. Hikaru visually remembered when Akira had angrily messed up the Go game when he first played Sai.

Hikaru raised his hand for protection as a Go piece cam whizzing at him from another direction. There were many screams and shouts and some of the Insei got up and ran.

Suddenly everything was silent as a brutally cold and chilling wind entered into the air. Everyone's voice was trapped in their throats. The wind died down eventually, but it was as if something else was creeping slowly into the room. Hikaru felt cold, colder than he'd ever been in his life. Abruptly he felt a single emotion sweep over him. Shame.

He sat there, cowering from the unknown presence. He was sweating hot… his limbs were about to turn to ice. All his senses were jumbled. He was paralyzed in that one unexplainable emotion.

"It's alright, Hikaru," Two shining and warm figures of his mom and Akari came and smiled gently at him. "Just go to sleep, and everything will be okay when you wake up."

He relaxed. The voices calmed him. He felt his eyelids drooping, little by little. All he wanted to do was slump over and snore his heart out. And he was just about to do that.

"Don't, Hikaru," Sai's voice broke the spell. The two figures gave a shriek and became deformed. Their anguished yells echoed in Hikaru's mind as the writhed around as if in panic while they were disappearing. Finally, he snapped back into reality. He panted as if he'd just ran a marathon,m and as he regained the breath he'd somehow just lost, he surveyed the room. There was rubble and dust everywhere. The bodies of the Insei, along with many Go stones and boards, were strewn everywhere. They all looked like they were sleeping peacefully.

"Waya! Isumi!" He gasped as he saw them. He ran towards them and tried to shake them awake. Waya moaned but thankfully opened his eyes. Isumi, on the other hand remained limp. He was out cold and there was a large gash on his arm.

"What happened?" panted Waya. Groggily, he sat up. His head pounded painfully in protest as he tried to recall the past few minutes. Hikaru waited until he regained his breath.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Waya checked himself over for any injuries.

"I… I think I am," he said hesitantly. He was still shaking a bit from the coldness he'd felt moments before. His golden-brown eyes surveyed the damage done. "What about Isumi? He was sitting closest to the wall when it just exploded."

"He's unconscious, but I think he's okay," said Hikaru. Sai nodded and agreed, "Yes, he was knocked out before the spell started so he wasn't affected."

Waya sighed in relief. "What about the others? Should we wake them?"

Sai answered, "No, the spell isn't strong enough to harm them. Yet. We should try to find the source of whatever's causing this." He waited as Hikaru relayed his answer to Waya.

"That makes sense… but wait, spell? Okay, I guess that's the only explanation…" Waya said, wincing. His head was still throbbing. "But how?"

Hikaru answered again with Sai's words, "Have you seen anything strange around here?"

"Hm… well, there was this freaky tourist guy," said Waya, "Oh! There was a person running around the hallway just after the games started."

"Yea," said Hikaru, "so?"

"Well… it was strange, you know?" said Waya. Hikaru gave him a raised eyebrow and he sighed, "Never mind…"

"I wonder if it's just the Inseis. Was anyone else affected?" asked Hikaru.

"Let's go check… but what about Isumi?"

"We should wait until he wakes up."

"Right."

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Outside the Go Institute life was progressing as normally as it ever had been. Passerby hardly even looked at the place. After all, it was just the Go Institute.

A long journalist writing for a popular Go magazine neared the building. She stopped before it, checking her hair and makeup one more time before entering. Sighing happily, she placed her hand on the doorknob, and was immobilized.

The building shuddered (A/N: don't ask me how this is possible) as if detecting the intruder. She turned her eyes upward, her face distorted in fear. She tried hard to pull away, but failed. Finally the response came. There was an unnatural zapping noise as jolts of electricity passed through her. There were screams and gasps as her body crumpled to the ground.

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A/N: Whoooot! Long chapter finished. Oh yes, and in case anybody is confused or curious, the little parts in the beginnings of the chapters are in the perspective of a ghost. And I'm also going to make a promise to everyone now: I will NOT kill ANYONE in this story. You see, in my last fma fic, all of my OCs died except for one. Mwahahahaha— er… I'm such an idiot.

Sai: Yay! Idiot!

Me: Hey…

Waya: So, who are ya going to pair the girl up with?

Me: How did you know I was going to do that?

Waya: Darkhand's writing her first fic with any pairings in it. I hope she fails miserably.

Me: (whimpers) You guys are supposed to help me, not hurt me…

Sai: Idiot! .

Me: (sighs) I give up.


	3. Chapter 3

Not Just a Game

A/N: Yay! The third chapter is here! Sorry guys if the ending to the second one was a bit… um… sudden. I hope you like it.

Oh yea, and there's something that I've been forgetting.

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN HIKARU NO GO.

Claimer: Vivian, unfortunately, is mine, along with her father.

Enjoy!

* * *

Shame

_It's a dreadful thing. It makes you hate yourself—and I did, for what I let him become. I let him become everything to me. In my confusion with this strange but painfully real emotion called love, I did what I should not have. I challenged him to a game._

_And in that game, he destroyed me even before half the stones were set. Then I did something even more shameful. I ran._

_He'd beaten me. I'd finally found a man with enough power to defeat me. And yet… he did not want me. I hate Go. It's despicable. Revolting. Worthless. A waste of my time, my energy, my love.

* * *

_

Both Waya and Hikaru jumped when Isumi snapped his eyes open and tried to sit up. He collapsed back down when his head started to throb dangerously in a head rush.

"What happened?" He murmured to himself. He got up again, this time slower and with Waya and Hikaru's help. "Oh, right… the wall…"

"Is you arm okay?" Waya asked, looking at it was a grossed out expression on his face. "I think it stopped bleeding."

"You're right. I should probably bandage it up though," he agreed. Then he noticed all of the bodies strewn around him. "Um… what happened while I was out?"

"We're still trying to figure that out," said Hikaru. "But look. Is this a first-aid kit?"

Waya took one look at what Hikaru had indicated and snorted, "That's an emergency defibrillator. You know—you're half dead and it shocks you back alive. That kind of thing."

"Oh…" Hikaru said, "hehe… just kidding?"

"I don't know if we have a first aid kit here, and even if we do, I don't know where it is. I mean, what are we going to do? Choke on the go stones and die?" said Waya doubtfully. He found a tablecloth and ripped off a long piece. "Here, use this for now."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Isumi took the piece and looked at it skeptically.

"Why are you asking me? They do it in anime all the time, and movies too!" Waya stammered. Hikaru laughed and muttered, "Who's the idiot now?"

"At least I wasn't trying to electrify him!"

"Tying a ribbon on his hand isn't going to help much either!"

"Guys, guys… calm down," sighed Isumi. "You're both stupid. Look over there. I knew this place had to have a first aid kit."

Waya and Hikaru looked and then immediately had to cover their mouths to unsuccessfully try to stifle their laughter. Waya was already red in the face and unable to breath, so Hikaru tried to explain, "That's—"

He started laughing again and had to gasp for breath.

"That's the—hahahahaha—!"

Isumi reeled up angrily, "Whaat?"

Waya snorted in his laughter and managed to blurt out, "Wire English Roar!"

"Wha?"

Hikaru decided to try again, "Fire- hahaha extinguish-guish- hahaha!" he couldn't hold it back and exploded in laughter again.

Isumi sweatdropped. It hadn't even been that funny.

* * *

While they were laughing their guts out, the rest of the Institute was silent. It was as if every sound had been swallowed up by some indescribable force. Everyone was slumped over, as if the life had left their bodies… except for one person.

Vivian ran to every room trying to find somebody who was awake. She'd already tried to leave the building, and was thankful she wasn't foolish enough to try her hand on the doorknob. It had fried the hairband she threw at it. Breathing hard from all the running, she fell to her knees and sat against a wall. Was she really the only person conscious in the whole building.

Suddenly, she remembered her father. What had happened to him? She ran to the elevator. The lights were down and there was no reaction when she pressed the button. The doors to the stairs were locked too. It seemed like you needed a special key to get it open. A whirring sound made her jump nervously as all the security cameras swiveled and turned to meet her. She gulped. It was as if the building had a life of its own.

"Great. Just great," she muttered to herself. She was beginning to lose hope. "I'm the only person moving in this stupid building with this stupid game—huh?"

She heard great hoots of laughter echo from the hallway. Confused, she listened closer and heard the same thing. She went to investigate.

* * *

"Guys, it's not funny," yelled Isumi angrily when they didn't stop laughing. They were completely unstoppable.

Suddenly the doorknob turned. Waya and Hikaru instantly shut themselves up and became alert.

A girl with long black hair entered the room hesitantly. She looked uncertain at the sight of so many bodies lying on the ground. Then she saw them. They were probably the ones she had heard.

"It's you," both Waya and Isumi gasped. They'd seen her overly active father as they entered the building. Why wasn't she half dead like everybody else?

"You guys…" Vivian said disapprovingly, but her disapproval was directed mostly at Waya . She remembered the embarrassment he had caused her when he started laughing without control. "How come you're not unconscious? What the heck is going on here? Why the hell were you laughing in a situation like this?"

Waya cowered under the glare he was receiving and said weakly, "Inside joke."

There was a moment of awkward silence. Isumi, the mature one, finally broke it and greeted, "My name's Isumi. Ignore the other two, they enjoy making idiots of themselves."

"Hey!" Waya shot back an angry look, clearly unhappy with Isumi's introduction. "I'm Waya, that's Hikaru. I'm not a complete idiot but Shindou there definitely is." He stifled a laugh. "Pff… last place in second class…"

"Why you…" growled Hikaru. After much begging from Sai, he let it go.

"Well, my name's Vivian and so far the Go Institute is unbelievably screwed," she said, "Now finish introducing yourselves and tell me what the hell is going on."

Waya looked about the room, and said confused, "But we already finished. It's just me, Isumi and Hikaru."

"What?" Vivian said. She indicated the empty space near Hikaru where Sai stood. "What are you talking about?"

"I dunno, what are _you_ talking about?"

Sai gasped and said to Hikaru, "I think she can see me."

"Of course I can see you!" Vivian said as if she was stating the obvious.

Sai gasped again, "She can hear me."

"Um… Sai?" Hikaru thought to him (A/N: That's how they communicate, right? Thinking.) "Tell her you're a ghost before Waya and Isumi get suspicious."

Sai bounced up to Vivian as joyfully as a ghost could be. "I'M SAI! I'M A GHOST! I HAUNT HIKARU! YOU CAN SEE ME!"

Vivian stared back up as if somebody just paralyzed her while she watched a mutated elephant fall from the sky while riding a meteor.

"But don't act as if anything such as me is here, cause Waya and Isumi don't know I exist!" Sai said happily. It was the first time somebody other than Hikaru could see him. He was ecstatic.

Vivian looked at Hikaru with a you're-kidding-me expression on her face for confirmation. He nodded weakly and smiled at her with an innocent expression on his face. Waya looked at both of them blankly an said, "Alright. You're both morons."

"Er… just pretend that never happened," Vivian offered a solution to his confusion, which he took. Then, it was time to be serious. "So what happened? There's no way to get out of this building and everyone's unconscious."

"We were hoping you'd give us an explanation," Isumi sighed. He finished tying the tablecloth strip around his arm as a makeshift bandage. "Hey… this actually works."

"Oh, I remember now," said Hikaru suddenly. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten. "You know the record room?"

Waya and Isumi both nodded. Sai, who was floating closest to Vivian, noticed her tense up a bit when Hikaru mention the room. Her thoughts were racing. _No… I can't tell them yet, they'll never believe me._

It's in this hallway near the end, right? Well, when I came I passed it and it wasn't there anymore."

"It wasn't there?" said Waya, incredulously. "Are you sure Shindou? I never even noticed it when it is there half the time."

"Yea," Hikaru said, understanding, "the room's really small, but when I passed the place there was just a wall there."

"Let me go see," Isumi offered. He got up and opened the door. "I'll be right back."

"Hm… what is going on," Waya murmured. Sai looked at Vivian worriedly. She looked like she was feeling uncomfortable. The room was silent as they waited for Isumi's return.

A few minutes later, all three (four including Sai's) heads turned as the doorknob turned, announcing Isumi's return. He entered the room and said darkly, "I think you should come see this."

* * *

Outside, chaos was reigning. Police had set up police lines and were working to ward off oncoming curious tourist and local idiots. Nobody so far had been able to get in; the paralyzed lucky ones who had been willing to try were now being carted off to the hospital. An officer sighed. This was going to be a long day. Walking as close to the building as he dared he saw from outside a haunting scene. Everybody inside was slumped to the ground. The whole building had an eerie feeling to it while he watched behind the glass doors.

Then it started.

* * *

Isumi led them to the record room. A wind started to pick up inside the room. As they neared the end of the hallway Waya felt himself physically being pushed backwards by huge gusts of wind. The four braced themselves against it. They could barely keep their eyes open. How were they going to see the room in the first place, they all wondered.

Hikaru saw it first, and when he did he gasped. It was a bad idea, the wind attacked the opening in his mouth and with no other option, he swallowed. As a result he had the uncomfortable feeling you get when you swallow air.

Papers were everywhere, flowing out of the room at an incredible rate. Waya gave a garbled yell as they flew into his face. He finally had the sense to flatten himself against the wall. Seeing him do this, the others followed suit. Vivian struggled to keep her hair in place as she found a spot next to him. She got a hair band and tied her hair while she was at it. Isumi and Hikaru went to the opposite wall. Only Sai stood at the center, his gaze transfixed by the strange sight in front of him. But it wasn't just that. The force that was causing this, he knew it somehow…

Waya glanced at Vivian. She was pale white and hugged herself tightly from the cold. She stared the room, her eyes wide with fear.

"Hey, are you okay?" Waya asked. He had to shout above the noise of paper hitting paper. She didn't reply, but instead stood there with the same helpless fear in her eyes. _What have I done?_

"Look, everything'll be alright," he tried to reassure her.

"Shit," she cursed. She was crouched down now and hugged her knees for more warmth. The curses turned into sobs and she said something so soft it was inaudible.

"What?" asked Waya. He was alarmed at her state.

"It's all my fault," she repeated. This time he heard it but Hikaru and Isumi looked extremely confused. Concerned, Sai floated to her and said to Hikaru, "You can't stay here much longer, and there's no purpose anyways. Get back from this wind."

Hikaru nodded and motioned the others to go back. They nodded and followed. The wind eventually died down when they neared the Insei room (A/N: eh… I don't know what else to call it.) Each breathing a sigh of relief, they hustled in.

"What is it, Vivian?" Hikaru asked, still confused.

"I made it happened," she said. Her voice quavered, "And now… now it's waking up."

"What's waking?" Isumi asked.

He was answered by a small tremor in the ground. It was first a gentle shaking, but he could tell it was going to get bigger, and fast.

"What's waking?" he repeated urgently. Waya and Hikaru both stood up in alarm as the tremors grew louder.

"I didn't tell you," Vivian said. "When I was looking around I saw the record room was open and there was a light on so I went inside. Then I found this piece of paper and the words started glowing and everything disappeared and…"

"And?"

"A ghost," she said, looking certain now. "It couldn't have been anything else."

"What? You woke up a ghost?" said Waya incredulously. "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"You wouldn't have believed me," she answered.

"Oh. Right."

"Well, this is great," said Hikaru sarcastically. "We're stuck in a building with a ghost—"

"Hikaru!" yelled Sai indignantly. Vivian watched, amused.

"Er… I mean, with a ghost that wants to kill everyone," stammered Hikaru, trying to add in words to differentiate the ghost from Sai. He glanced at Sai, who looked like he was about to murder the person he was haunting at the moment.

"Actually you're wrong," Vivian spoke up again. "It hasn't even started. The ghost isn't even properly awake yet."

"And how do you know this?" challenged Waya.

"I guess… I guess I really don't know, but I have this feeling, and I trust my instincts."

The tremors stopped. But instead of relief, all they felt was more pressure. They all knew that it wasn't over at all. It hadn't even begun yet.

And just like that, it all began. Electricity crackled in the air as the building came to life. Lights that couldn't take the energy being forced into them shattered, the glass raining down onto the floor with sparks as if they were fireworks. A microwave clicked on and some creepy classical music started playing in somebody's stereo. The elevator light flicked on and the fire alarms started flashing and screaming until they suddenly exploded.

_I awoke._

_I'd been sleeping for so many years I forgot what it meant to be awake. Emotion, I completely forgot about them._

_Hate is an emotion. Love is too. But there was no love felt in the place I woke up._

It's very ironic. The first thing I see when I finally awake from this thousand year slumber, is a Go board.

_Despicable._

Everybody else in the building is unconscious, to my satisfaction, except for five, to my disappointment. I could feel it surrounding them, an aura of a strong and deep desire for Go. It was perfectly logical—this was a building of Go, the people inside were all naturally idiots who played the game. I will watch them carefully—and then, I will destroy them.

* * *

A/N: My fingers hurt, especially my pinky… aagh… that's it. I am NEVER writing an eight-page chapter. Not in a million bazillion years. (sighs wearily) Why do my chapters seem to get longer and longer? Anyways, please review! Please please pleeeease? 


	4. Chapter 4

Not Just a Game 4

A/N: Sorry guys for skipping a week… These people from England came to visit and I was busy the whole of last week. Another thing is that school starts for me in two days. August 31st. I know, it really sucks, but there is some good news. I drew two pictures of Not Just a Game related stuff and the links are posted on my profile page. They're also in my xanga, if any of you read that. (That link is also on my profile.)

Hm… I've also drawn another one but my scanner really sucks, so I might wait till school starts and use the school scanner or something. That way I won't have to spend so much time darkening all the lines and stuff.

Enjoy!

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Disclaimer: I don't own Hikaru no Go.

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"_The Game of Go will kneel before me."_

Waya, Isumi, Vivian, Hikaru, and Sai could only gape at the damage the ghost had done. Shards of glass littered the floor, sunlight glinting off them so they looked dangerously inviting. Meanwhile, the music kept playing from the stereo, giving the room and even spookier atmosphere.

"We shouldn't just leave them there," Hikaru said suddenly. The unconscious Insei were in the middle of all the mess. "Let's bring them to a corner."

They all agreed. Isumi got up and found a broom on the other side of the room. He quickly swept away some glass into piles and cleared a small area.

"Be careful not to let them touch the glass," reminded Vivian. Just as she finished saying this, Waya let out an unrestrained curse as a piece of glass scraped his leg. A dribble of blood started oozing out, which he hastily wiped away.

"Waya, I haven't gotten to there yet," Isumi said, his voice a tad reproachful. Waya just continued on, looking at the glass darkly and muttering to himself. Hikaru and Vivian found it hard to stop laughing.

While they brought everyone to safely, Sai stood alone among the rubble of the exploded wall. As if to make sure of something, he raised his hand to touch the wall. As usual, his semi-transparent hand passed through it. His eyes narrowed. "Just as I thought."

Isumi was already done sweeping up the glass, so he sat down with a sigh, wiping a bead of sweat away from his face. The air-conditioning had been off for a long time already, and the atmosphere within the building was hot and humid. He glanced at the Insei that were lined up as though it was naptime in Preschool. His eyes instead were lured to something much more interesting.

An unconscious custodian was lying face-down on the ground in the hallway. Attached to his belt was a ring of keys.

Access to the stairway.

"Hey guys," Isumi called.

"Hey yourself," grunted Waya as he lifted the last Insei off the ground. "We're doing all the work."

Isumi didn't reply and instead twirled something around his finger. The keys glinted and clanged as they spun.

Waya noticed what they were and started, "So? They're just ke—"

Vivian cut him off short and gasped, "Keys to the stairwell. Oh, thanks Isumi! That's great!"

"And where are _you_ going?" Waya said in a slightest sardonic tone. He felt himself fuming at the fact that Isumi had earned all the congratulations while gazing around like a lazy buffoon.

"My father's on the first floor," she explained. Her expression grew worried. "I-I hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he's fine," Isumi answered. Hikaru nodded and agreed.

Waya's eyes, which had been avoiding her the whole time, glanced at her slyly. He said indifferently, "Hmmph. He's obviously unconscious like everyone else. Why worry?"

The room was silent. So he continued.

"Besides, finding your father isn't going to help us out of the building. It's a waste of our time."

Vivian was speechless. "Wha—"

"Why would we need some crazy tourist messing everything up anyways? You know how you're father's like. I've seen him."

That was the last straw. Hot, angry tears welled up in her eyes at his comments. She spun around quickly, avoiding everyone's gaze, snatched the keys from Isumi's grasp, and ran out of the room.

"…psh. She's too sensitive," Waya added unnecessarily at the end.

He then literally felt himself shrink as Hikaru and Isumi's (Sai's too) condemning glares bore down upon him.

"Follow her. Now." Isumi commanded.

"Wha-why? It was her fault in the first place," Waya whined and then mimicked childishly, "Oh, thanks Isumi! That's _great_!"

"Go. Now."

"But—"

"Now."

"But…"

"Waya…" Isumi's eyes glinted evilly.

"O-Okay…" Waya stammered. He left the room as quick as he could and let out a deep sigh of relief when he got out. As soon as he slowed to a walking pace, he heard Isumi's voice bellow, "Run, you idiot. Don't walk." He turned and saw Isumi glaring angrily in one direction and the door to the stairs quickly closing in the other. Putting on a burst of speed, he slipped through just before it closed.

Only seconds after this happened, a piercing shriek reached Hikaru and Isumi's ears. (A/N: At this point my sister was like, "Waya shrieked?" Uh… No, Lucy. Not Waya.)

"Was that Vivian?" said Hikaru, horrified at what might have befallen her.

"We shouldn't just leave them there. There's definitely trouble down there."

Hikaru nodded readily (although in his mind he was thinking, _Isumi… you were the one who found the keys in the first place…_) and reached forward to grasp the handle…

"Hikaru, No!" Sai cried out in warning. Hikaru froze, his fingers barely a centimeter from the handle.

Isumi saw him stop and understood why. To make sure, he threw a mop from the custodian's little trolley at the door. It zapped and fell onto the floor, completely fried.

"Hikaru," called Sai. Hikaru looked up and was surprised to see a fierce fire blazing in Sai's eyes. He'd never seen him like this. His eyes were narrowed in a dangerous way and his knuckles were white. Well, whiter that they usually were. "I will find that ghost. And I'll give him a piece of my mind. Powers like ours should never, _ever_ be abused."

"Sai… what do you mean by powers?"

"As a ghost, I am only a spiritual being until I possess something. A ghost can only haunt three things—a person, place, or thing. In my case I could only haunt a Go board at first, and only after a long period of time did you find me. Only somebody who is 'aware' of ghosts can be possessed."

"Lucky me," grumbled Hikaru.

"I actually had two choices at the time though. Once I had been awaked from the Go board, I chose to haunt Hikaru instead of his Grandfather's house."

"You mean you could've—" started Hikaru.

"I probably didn't have the power to do that in the first place. (And it would've been so boring!) In order to possess a whole building, I would have to have incredible amounts of emotional energy. When I passed the record room I felt it all. It was an uncontrollable flowing out of emotions…"

"So you mean… a lot of power, right?"

"Yes, but this ghost is threatening the lives of all the innocent people within the building. I will not simply stand by and let this happen," Sai asserted.

"Right," Hikaru agreed.

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"That Waya…" Vivian muttered to herself as she stumbled nervously through the eerily quiet hallways. She hated the fact that she was alone, but finding her father was of utmost importance.

She was nearing the lobby when suddenly a small thud resounded from inside one of the rooms. Was there somebody else in the building? Making a snap decision, she gathered some of the courage left inside her and turned the doorknob.

There was nobody inside. Vivian gulped and hurried out of the room. She turned and was met with the face of an unconscious but still standing man. The door slammed into him by accident and he fell forward, his stubbly, unshaven face missing her by inches. At the sudden movement of the man, she let out an earsplitting shriek, louder than she would've liked.

_Calm down,_ she thought quietly to herself. _Everything's fine. You just knocked him over. That's all._

_**Why are you here?**_

The voice echoed and faded away as if it was from some far off place.

"Who's there?" Vivian called out, feeling scared and a bit stupid at the same time. (A/N: Well, I'd feel stupid just talking to something that's not physically there… you know, it's like you're almost talking to yourself.)

_**Why are you here?**_

The voice repeated itself. So she wasn't imagining things.

"Tell my who you are first," Vivian demanded angrily and then added boldly, "And tell me why you're doing this to all these people."

The voice was silent for a second. Then, there was a strange cracking sound in the air and suddenly a huge blast of wind knocked Vivian off her feet. She gasped in pain as she slammed into the wall, the impact shaking her bones.

**_I will be asking the questions. Now, why are you here?_**

The voice was booming. Vivian winced as she stood up from the blast and resisted the temptation to cover her ears and scream, "Shut up!" to the echoes of the ghost's voice. She stood shakily and glared defiantly around her, still reluctant to give in to the ghost's demands. "I'm still here because you've trapped me. I was simply visiting a tourist spot while on vacation.

The booming in her head ended. Then, it inquired curiously, **_So you're not a Go player?_**

"No," said Vivian, surprised at the strange question. "Why would I be?"

_**You don't like Go?**_

"It's the stupidest game ever invented. I can't even understand the rules," she blurted, then caught herself back from further insulting the game as she thought of the possibility that the ghost was being also insulted in the process. She gulped nervously.

_**Oh. Well then, you can go.**_

"What?" Vivian practically screamed.

_**I have no interest in you. Go.**_

"B-but… I… wuh?"

_**What about those four other? Do they resent Go like you?**_

Vivian blinked. "Well, uh… not really, but—wait a second," Vivian said. "You only want to do this to people who like Go? But why?"

You wouldn't understand. Go is despicable. It controls your life and twists it into a complete nightmare. All the people here are its little underlings…

"It's a game," Vivian shouted with exasperation. "You play it for fun."

Fun? No, you play to win. It's not just a game. Now go.

Every fiber in Vivian's body told her to go—to get out of this goddamned place. But she couldn't. She couldn't leave everybody behind. Not Hikaru, not her father, not even Waya.

She didn't move. Instead, she heard her name being called—first faintly, but getting louder. Her eyes widened as she recognized Waya's voice.

Waya—and Insei, whose life revolved around Go twenty four-seven.

"No…," she whispered.

The ghost chuckled and said with delight, **_The first one has come. Let me do it away…_**

"No," she screamed, "Waya, get away. Don't come near me!"

Too late.

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A/N: (sighs) So the chapter ends. It wasn't as long as the last one though…

So since school starts in say… two days, my update time will probably take much, much longer… like two months each chapter sometimes kinda long. So I recommend you wonderful readers out there to put me on story alert so you don't get disappointed each time you visit to see if I've updated yet.

Speaking of which, special thanks to **Kikio Shiroshi **(Good luck on your story), **Bluetiger42**, **MysticChaos**, and **Victoria** for reviewing. You guys give me the encouragement I need!

See you next time!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I think it's been almost three weeks now, hasn't it? Again, I'm really sorry to all you faithful readers out there. For some reason this chapter was harder to write, especially since I had a minor case of a writer's block… and then I wrote three different versions for one part of the chapter… and then I just gave up… and then I wrote what I have now. Blegh. It's okay to pm me and tell me to just HURRY UP, since I usually need it and if I'm very bored, I may occasionally take up the pen and write something.

Disclaimer: I would never try to write a story centered around a board game that I can't even play. Therefore, I will never own one.

I hope you enjoy.

Waya: (whimper) Do I have to do this?

Isumi/Hikaru/Vivian: Oh yes… yes you do (evil gleams in eyes)

Waya: …RUN AWAAAAAAY! (leaves in a cloud of dust)

Isumi/Hikaru/Vivian: We're coming in to get you… YOU CANNOT ESCAAAAAPE! (goes after him) BLEHEHEHEHE!

Ghost: (sweatdrops) they're scarier than _me._

That's enough of my blabbing now, on with the story!

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It was quite a surprise to Isumi and Hikaru when heavy-metal music started blasting from one of the unconscious Insei's pockets. There were also some vague but very obscene words that they could make out among the "noise," so basically they tried to find the source as fast as they could. (They were very disturbed when the cell phone was found in Ochi's pocket—no, no, just kidding. Sorry, the author doesn't have much self-control… uh… just read on.) When they finally found the cell phone, the caller had hung up and the obscene music ended—much to their relief.

"A cell phone!" Hikaru exclaimed. He snatched it up. It was black and covered with stickers of dragons, skulls, snakes, etc. Typical.

"Now we can communicate with the outside," Isumi said. His cheeks were still slightly red from when his brain had decoded the singer's words. "Dial the police."

Just when he finished saying this, the cell phone lighted up and received a call. The same singer was the ring tone, and started screaming the F-word very loudly from the phone. Hikaru dropped it in surprise. The word repeated over and over again until Isumi lunged and hit the answer button.

The caller: "Oh, honey… honey? Are you there? Are you alright? It'll be okay now… mommy's here."

Hikaru and Isumi just listened in a stunned silence.

When the caller heard the silence she started the hysterics. "Oh my god! Smoochums was murdered! Honey, honey! Oh… nooooooo… breathe honey! Please! Are you dead? NOOOOOO! SMOOCHUMS! Wait are you really dead? NOOOOOO! Don't leave—WAAAAAH…!"

Isumi spoke into the phone, "Hello?"

The caller gasped and screamed into the phone, "SMOOCHUMS?"

Isumi hung up.

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Immediately after Waya arrived on the scene, the ghost took on a visible form. Waya and Vivian watched in awe as gusts of wind blew past them. Papers that were caught in it clattered together, sometimes running at their faces and slashing past them. A miniature tornado of paper formed in the center of the hall as all the wind gathered there. Finally the air calmed and all the papers fluttered to the ground, revealing a young woman in her twenties.

She was beautiful. Her long curtains of hair were black like obsidian. They fell loosely around her shoulders. Her slender frame was clothed in a light silk robe, which had patterns of feathers decorating the bottom rim and small, meticulous sparrows sewn around her collar. She turned slowly, and faced them. The features of her face were delicate, two soft brown eyes with heavy black eyelashes. A nose that fit perfectly on her face, not too flat and not too prominent at the same time. And her lips, a pale crimson color, complimented her pale face, which had a slight, healthy flush in it.

"My name is Chihime," her voice was not soft and subtle, an assumption many had taken after seeing what she looked like. Instead, it was steady and pronounced. She turned to Vivian. "I will ask you again, to please leave."

Vivian replied, "I've already told you my answer to that. I'm not leaving."

Waya looked at her in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something. "W—"

At the sound of his voice, the ghost turned on him, an angry glow emanating from her eyes. In a stormy voice, she boomed, "Silence when you are not being addressed!"

Vivian gulped nervously as she watched Chihime raise her hand. The same force that had been used on her was now used on Waya. The blast of pressurized air hit him square in the chest and threw him against the wall. She felt the ghost's eyes watching her keenly, waiting for her reaction.

"Why—what are you exactly going to do to him?" Vivian asked, struggling to keep the tremble from her voice.

The ghost smiled hideously. It was surprising how such a beautiful face could be ugly at the same time. "I'm going to do whatever I want."

Vivian felt paralyzed by that smile. The beauty of the ghost seemed like a mask of all the ugliness she harbored within her. Feeling an onset of panic, Vivian cleared her thoughts mentally, and thought to herself, _What are you so scared of, stupid? You're not even the one in danger! _

But Waya was.

He was standing behind her, glaring defiantly at the ghost while she stood shaking in her shoes. She wondered what he would do if he was in her place—and she knew. She felt ashamed of thinking, even just thinking, about abandoning him.

Vivian took her place beside Waya and said to Chihime, "This is what _I_ want."

The smile disappeared from Chihime's face. "So be it," she said impassively. "Although I will give you the chance to leave whenever you want."

Waya smirked. "She's not going to listen to you, you know."

Chihime ignored the words and said, "You do realize you're in no position to make such comments, do you?"

Vivian sighed. Why did Waya decide to provoke her at a time like this?

(Waya: Cause the evil authoress of this evil story told me so!

Me: Feel my power.)

"Remember," the ghost was saying, "you are at _my _mercy. I can kill you whenever I want."

Waya dismissed it all. "Those are just words."

"Shut up!" The ghost suddenly yelled. The effect on what he had just said on her was enormous. Her soft brown eyes became hard. Her hair started blowing around madly and instead of sash, it resembled twisting vines. The air grew so hot it was almost suffocating, and a slash of wind hit Waya in the stomach. He doubled over, coughing as he tried to regain his breath. Vivian found herself breathing faster and harder from the mere atmosphere of the hall. She was surprised when she found enough breath to ask, "Waya, are you alright?"

He answered as best as he could, panting in between his words, "I'm… fine…" But she could see that he was most definitely not. Beads of sweat slid down his face. His breath was ragged and heavy.

He'd barely finished the pitiful two-word sentence when the ghost forced him on his knees.

"Bow to me," she said. The muscles in his legs screamed in pain. He forced them to resist and tried to get back on his feet, but some strange power the ghost was wielding kept him down. Vivian gasped, "Chihime, please stop this." That simple sentence took so much effort.

"Nonsense," the ghost said, "It was god who decided this. He has been generous enough to give me this time and I will not waste it."

She flicked her finger, and Waya felt his arms snap back and lock behind him from an invisible force. With nothing to support him, he fell forwards.

**_Bow to me._** The ghost's voice vibrated through his ears, making his head ring.

But before he could land on his face, he felt Vivian pull him back up by the shoulder. He regained some balance and tried to get back up, but found himself resting his head on her. She held him close—it was the only thing she could do for him while he suffered the ghost's torment. He could feel her heart beating wildly inside her. (A/N: NOTHING PERVERTED, guys. If Vivian's okay with it, everything's fine. Jeez, don't let your imagination run wild! XD) He closed his eyes and relaxed, giving in to the fatigue he felt in every pore of his body.

"Stop this." Vivian pleaded. "Don't do this. It's… it's inhuman."

"Then tell me this." For some reason, the horrible expression on the ghost's face had vanished. The atmosphere lightened up. "What exactly is human?"

Vivian hesitated. "Well… helping others, making people happy, charity… Anything that is an expression of love and caring from you to something else."

The ghost smiled, as if in pity. "What innocence! Then let me ask you this. What of the poor boy on the streets who steals bread from the bakers? If he does not consume the bread, he will be hungry, malnourished, and maybe even dead. But in his act of stealing, he causes misery to the baker, who loses money. Is the boy, what was you word, _inhuman_?"

"No, but—"

"You say loving makes you human. Do you realize that love for one could possibly lead to neglecting another?"

"Well—"

"I ask you then, to willingly distribute some of the income your family makes, the kind that you use for pure pleasure, to a stranger you've never met before. Do you ever take off you jacket on a cold rainy day and place it on the shoulders of a shivering old woman?"

"That's not it!" Vivian shouted. "Okay, so maybe some of the things we do aren't the best choices. Maybe the world isn't perfect. But what you're doing is completely wrong. It's something you can't justify, ever. Only somebody who was completely crazy would do something as crazy as this. I mean, it's JUST A GAME!"

"No." This time it was Waya's voice. He sat himself up. "If it was just a game, I wouldn't be here."

"But… Waya…" Vivian faltered. How could she argue?

"What I don't understand though, is your motive." Waya said. "Why _would _you do something like this?"

Chihime sighed in exasperation. "Must I explain all of this to you in words? Did you not feel my motive when I awoke?"

There was a silence as Waya and Vivian recalled the unfortunate happenings that had put them in this situation. They both remembered the unnaturally strong emotional feelings they had experienced after the ghost awoke and caused this great mess…

Suddenly, Chihime spoke, "There is a disturbance. It seems like your friends from above are trying to somehow communicate with the outside." She examined herself with regret. "My form currently does not enable me to sense their auras clearly—I am bound by some of your physical limitations. However, I will go and seek them out."

Waya and Vivian glanced at each other. What were Isumi and Hikaru up to now?

Chihime walked to the stairs and went through the door. "I will deal with you later, so stay put."

After she left them there, the two remained silent in case the ghost returned. After about a minute, they though it safe enough to talk.

"Hey Waya…" Vivian started. Her voice was a little above a whisper.

"Hm?"

Vivian couldn't bring herself to find the right words. Her cheeks were flushed with red.

"Yes?" Waya pressed on. He waited a moment and she answered hesitantly.

"Back there when the ghost looked at you like… like _that_. Were you scared?"

Waya was caught off guard by the question. "Uh… well… um… were _you_?

"…I ASKED YOU FIRST, STUPID!"

Vivian gave him a glare and watched him closely as he answered.

"Well, I wasn't exactly—"

"LIAR."

"What?"

"You're stupid, and you're a liar."

"Okay, okay. Fine. So maybe I was for a teensy bit—"

"LIAR."

"Godammit! Fine! I WAS SCARED."

There was a small silence as Vivian tried to stifle her laughter.

"Haha… Waya was scared!"

"Sh-shut up!" Waya yelled back. His face was red. "You were probably so scared you peed in your pants!"

"Is this word from experience?"

"What? Why you…"

"Besides, I wasn't even talking about that!"

"Then what?"

"YOU were _afraid_ to admit to ME that you were scared! Twice in a row! What now, Waya? What now?"

"You'll regret this Vivian, you will," Waya muttered to himself. Vivian just laughed.

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A/N: Holy crap, I didn't mean for this chapter to be as long as this. (says sorry to my pinky that is sore from typing). Well anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chappie and I hope you stick around long enough to read the next one! (eyes Isumi evilly) Bwahaha.

Special thanks to: **MysticChaos** (I put it in General cause I didn't really now where the story was headed at the time), **Vicky Chain **(It's important that I thank you guys because you're one of the important reasons I write!), **Darsh **(Well, it's nice that you try out different types of stories once in a while), and **Kikio Shiroshi **(I'm not THAT mean… why would I want to kill Waya? HIS HAIR IS SO AWESOME!)

Waya: (sweatdrop) I think that's the only reason I'm alive.

Me: Actually I swore in the beginning of the story that I wouldn't kill anybody in the story.

Waya: (phew)

Me: But my word is as good as a blob of jelly's, so you shouldn't be relieved.

Waya: I hate you.

Me: I love you. (pats his hair)

Waya: Why me…


	6. Chapter 6

Not Just a Game Chapter 6

A/N: Well… It's been about two months since I last updated. You're lucky that I finish math tests early, because that's usually when I write… or sometimes in French. Well, all I have to say is that I am a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE procrastinator. Sorry for the long time to update, many stupid projects and the end of the first marking period delayed it… not to mention the fact that I lost half of the story somehow… and I had to rewrite it too… I can't believe I don't know where it went. Hm…

Waya, you are officially out of Chihime's attention now, so you may breathe a sigh of relief.

Waya: Phew…

Me: (continues) But don't get too excited, since she's bound to find you once more!

Waya: You love lowering my self-confidence, don't you….

Me: 'Tis my job.

Waya: I will get my revenge… one day… some day…

Me: (shrugs) Now do the disclaimer and the claimer.

Waya: Darkhand27 is too stupid to play go, so she doesn't own Hikaru no Go. However, she does have enough imagination to think up of weird people like Chihime (shudders), Vivian, and her dad.

Vivian: (gives Waya a dark look) Who's 'weird'?

Waya: Nobody.

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Hikaru waited as Isumi dialed the police. At first, the call wasn't successful—there was absolutely no signal inside the building. Fortunately, Isumi had enough sense to call closer to the window. The effort rewarded him with one bar. He dialed again, and this time is was successful.

Isumi started explaining the situation, "We're in the Go Institute… we can't get out. The rest of the people are—"

There was an explanation on the other end of the line. 'I've got a call! It's someone from the Go Institute!" There was much scurrying around and then, breathlessly, the man said, "Here's the head of the police."

"Um, well, I don't really—" Isumi started. He was cut off by the gruff voice coming out from the speaker of the phone.

"What's your situation?" the police chief growled. He didn't sound like a very jolly guy at the moment.

"Um, there are four of us, I think, but we're separated on different floors."

"And the others in the building?"

Isumi answered, 'They're all unconscious. Every single one of them."

There was a silence at the other end of the line. Finally, Isumi heard a deep sigh coming out of the speaker. "We're going to get you all out. Maybe through a window if everything else fails. Stay right where you are and listen to my instructions. Do you follow? All the other entrances are sealed by some unknown force, so—hello?"

Isumi didn't answer.

"Hello? Are you there? Look, son, we're trying to help you." The chief said. He sat there in the office, seconds ticking by slowly in silence. Something was terribly wrong, but whatever had happened, it had happed quickly and quietly. He couldn't just hang up either. It was their only connection to the Go Institute.

Finally, slowly, Isumi's lips moved. They produced no words, except for a small undecipherable noise that sounded raspy.

"What happened?" the chief demanded angrily.

Isumi didn't answer. He couldn't. His voice was stuck in his throat, and he was too busy looking at something else.

Chihime's head and half her body protruded from the wall. She stepped into the room and sighed happily, "Goodness, I thought I'd never find you."

Astonished, Isumi let the phone fall from his hand. It clattered to the ground and flipped itself closed. Call ended.

The ghost was here.

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"Hikaru! Are you sure it was a good choice to separate from Isumi?" Sai asked, floating around in panic. "What if something happens to him while we're gone?"

"He's _just_ making a phone call," Hikaru answered. "I'm hungry. There's some sort of vending machine around here… I think I can break the glass around it with a rod of some sorts."

Sai wasn't finished. He floated in front of Hikaru and yelled with his arms crossed, "It's dangerous to be along in the Go Institute! There's a ghost that's—that's, eh?"

Ignoring Sai's protesting wails, Hikaru had found a thick metal curtain rod that was lying unassembled on the ground. He took it and slammed it into the vending machine. The rod went straight through Sai.

"THAT'S MEAN!" wailed Sai. He pouted and sniffed, "_Now_ look what the consequences could have been. What if the ghost heard that? It could come to kill us any second!"

"Sai, you're already dead."

"SO WHAT IF I'M DEAD? If you die I'm even MORE hopeless!"

Hikaru sighed, finally fed up with Sai's whining. "_You're _the ghost. Why are YOU so freaked out? I mean, look at you."

Sai stood there and whimpered. "Well… I… um…."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow and opened a can of tea. "What?"

"What if she's… a cannibal ghost? Do you think she would eat me? DO I LOOK EDIBLE? (Could she absorb my essence and devour it???)" Sai whispered fervently. He looked around with a paranoid look on his face.

Hikaru unsuccessfully tried to laugh, then choked on his tea, and solved his problems by spewing a mouthful of the substance to who knows where. He said with disbelief, "Sai, are you afraid of ghosts?"

"Y-y-n-yyy-no-yes."

A moment of silence, and then, "FINE. WHAT IF I AM?"

888888

Waya and Vivian were finally on the move. The ghost had been gone for a long time, and there was no way that they were going to let anything happen without a fight. They were in the storage room, a large, cluttered place with stacks and stacks of go-related items strewn all about.

Waya grunted as he lifted away five go tables and set them aside. Wiping some of the sweat off his forehead, he sighed. "Is this good enough, Vivian?"

She came over to look. He had uncovered two small TV monitors that looked like they hadn't been in use for a long time. She plugged them into a nearby outlet in the wall and they started buzzing with static. She smiled, "Perfect."

They were uncovering all sorts of old radios, televisions, and other types of electrical devices. They had even successfully dismantled the TV that was hung up on the ceiling. Now, the first floor of the Go Institute was all full of these devices, spaced apart in the hallways and hidden in many corners.

"I'm surprised this place has so many TVs," Vivian said. She found three more on the other side of the room.

"Well, we need them to watch reruns of Go games and live competitions, stuff like that," Waya replied. "A lot of these are old and they don't really work right anymore."

"As long as they can make a lot of noise," Vivian muttered to herself as she tried to lift them. They toppled over and nearly destroyed the row of Go boards to her left. Waya sweatdropped and stammered, "Um, Vivian? I think you shouldn't touch that anymore. It looks—"

The whole thing collapsed and she fell backwards.

"d—dangerous?"

888888

Hikaru continued to bicker with Sai as they made their way down the hall back to the Insei Room. He gulped noisily as the last drops of the tea slid into his mouth and wiped at his mouth with his sleeve.

He threw the can away into a trash can near the door. Sighing with satisfaction, he turned the doorknob and entered the room. "Isumi?"

Silence.

"Hello? Did the phone call wor—" Hikaru and Sai stopped short as both of them spotted something on the floor.

Hikaru gulped. It was a cell phone.

The room was silent.

Or was it?

Immediately, Sai went into a panic. "I told you Hikaru, the ghost is coming to eat us! But you're still so young, ohh… why us? Why are we condemned to this fate? Kami-san, I want to play more Go!! Pleeeease?"

All the while, Hikaru just stood there, his ears straining for a sound. The atmosphere was starting to bug him. He was all alone, and that was _not_ good. Then, he heard it again.

_Clack, Clack._

"Shut up, Sai!" Hikaru yelled urgently. Sai stopped and finally noticed what was going on. He listened with Hikaru.

_Clack, Clack._

A few hours before, to them it would've been the most wonderful sound in the world—the sound of Go stones hitting the surface of the Goban. But as this hour, in this situation, it only served to creep them out even more. There was no mistaking it, though. There was no other way the sound could be produced.

_Clack, Clack._

It sounded far off, echoing a bit before it actually reached their ears. But it wasn't a _distance_ sort of "far off". That sound was timeless. It echoed through all time.

_Clack, Clack._

The noise created some sort of trance. Ghost and boy felt spellbound by it. It wasn't a normal sound.

"Hikaru…" Sai whispered. "Who is playing?"

Hikaru swallowed. His throat felt dry even though he'd just had a drink.

"I-I don't know…"


End file.
